The UK government is offering up to £8.8 million in funding to develop new energy management products and services using data from non-domestic smart meters.

Organisations can now apply for a share of the funding to help them design new energy-saving innovations to reduce energy demand in small, non-domestic buildings such as shops, restaurants and schools.

The initiative will be overseen by the government’s innovation agency, Innovate UK, and specifically seeks projects that develop software tools from smart meter data.

Smart meters and energy management

Smart meters – currently being rolled out to homes and businesses across the country – help consumers to manage their energy better, promote more efficient energy use, and contribute to the modernisation of Britain’s power network.

Importantly, government research into smart metering at non-domestic premises has shown that the data recorded by smart meters can be used to significantly reduce energy consumption with the help of energy management tools.

For instance, this could include the generation of information and advice on specific actions to take, such as prompts to alter heating controls and lighting.

The government’s new innovation initiative is looking for projects that can develop such tools to help businesses save energy.

Competition details

The competition for funding is open to any organisation that can “demonstrate a route to market for its idea”, with applications welcomed until the deadline date of midday on 9 February 2018.

Up to £1.8 million in contracts is available for feasibility studies in the first phase, with the Department of Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) also offering £1.5 million for a research and evaluation contractor to work with competition participants.

For more information on the competition, as well as details on how to apply for funding, visit the official BEIS page here.

Our commitment to innovation

As a major stakeholder in both the smart metering and energy management industries, we fully support the government’s investment in maximising the innovative use of smart meter data.

Helping businesses reduce consumption, promoting sustainability, and delivering the future of smart energy are areas of concern that we are most passionate about as an organisation – and this initiative presents an exciting opportunity to encourage advancement within these fields.

Our own commitment to innovation means we have been and are currently involved with a number of EU research and development projects.

This allows us stay at the cutting edge of technological development, standardisation and energy management drivers within our industry.

Working alongside project partners, our R&D efforts include the following:

developing new technology and financial models to connect, control and actively manage generation and storage assets to exploit synergies between electrical flexibility and the thermal inertia of buildings (SABINA);